For years, my daily prayer has been the same: that I become the very best version of myself. That I shine brightly by the day. That I operate not at half-dim but at full-wattage.

Alicia Keys, More Myself

As a compulsive goal setter, it was both awesome and unfortunate that when setting my goals for ’21, I realized that Jan 1 was exactly 40 days before my 40th birthday. Any of you goal setters out there will instantly see the danger here. With this kind of serendipity, it is really hard to stop at just one goal. Must… keep… reaching!

Not all will understand the desire to reach. Here’s the deal, to the best of my knowledge, we get one shot at this life here on earth. ONE SHOT. We are each born with our own unique gifts and strengths and my fear for myself (and for us all, really) is that in an effort to find our way in this world, we tone down or become disconnected from what makes us each awesome. To site the wise Alicia Keys, that we spend our days walking around at half-dim. That thought hurts my soul.

Hear me, 40 is not old, though my kids tell me otherwise. But assuming we get 80-100 years in these bodies, I realize I’m nearing the middle of the journey and because we don’t know what tomorrow holds, maybe less. That’s okay, and, I am simply at the point in life where I see that, feel it deeply, and don’t want to spend one more minute on this planet disconnected from my purpose or not burning at full-wattage. To honor myself, to be an example to my kids, to love on the people around me as best as possible, there is a sense of responsibility to get after it. Anyone with me on this? This may be my favorite topic… my door is open for discussion.

So what started as a simple exercise to set some goals for 2021, turned in to something much larger, it turned into a 40 to 40 journey that has me taking stock in life, pounding the pavement, and celebrating the beauty that has brought me to this point. 

The themes emerged naturally:

• Detox
• Service
• Mindfulness
• Fitness
• Joy

Okay, that’s good. But what does this mean?

Detox: Release the things, thoughts, behaviors in my life that are blocking my energy and heart.  Service: Discover opportunities to give my time and abilities while stoking my passions.  
Joy: This one is my favorite, because it can be so many things. Basically, extract the maximum amount of joy from this life, the people, and the opportunities in front of me. 
Mindfulness: Reclaim my mental energy and gain awareness. Meditate every day for 40 days. Fitness:  Celebrate my health and push myself to do MAS (more awesome stuff). Specifically: 

• Run 40 miles in 40 days
• Hit movement goals for 40 days
• Track and hit macros for 40 days
• Surf as much as humanly possible

In case you missed my last post I am now 23 days in. Tomorrow, we’ll dive into the fitness journey. I’m finding that the goals above are all interconnected and the themes that bring everything together are mindfulness and joy which is fanning my flame. 

In the mean time, it’s a beautiful day out there, I hope you do something that lights your fire!

Live MAS!